1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to the field of ski lifts and means to convey individual chairs continuously about a ski lift circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
It is generally known that ski lift chairs are fastened to a suspended steel cable which is moved continuously around a closed path. In this conventional type of lift, each chair is permanently fastened to the cable, so that the spacing between the chairs is constant and the travel speed of each chair is the same as that for each other chair. As a consequence, skiers must be able to mount and dismount chairs which cannot be slowed to render these maneuvers to be accomplished more easily and/or more safely. Thus it is difficult for beginning skiers to learn to master mounting and dismounting techniques. In an effort to solve this problem, modifications have been made to conventional ski lifts wherein individual chairs can be shifted at the mounting and dismounting stations to slower moving conveyor means for a limited period of time in order to facilitate skier chair lift mounting and dismounting procedures. However, these systems are complicated, require a considerable amount of additional equipment and space, and, as a result, are more expensive than a conventional cable chair lift and require more maintenance.